"SIR, I have to remind you, it's 4 p.m. in Oxford right now."
William quickly understood Sunday's point. "Check which of the places I've visited are currently at night."
"SIR, at this time, only parts of Asia are in the evening," Sunday responded.
William thought for a moment. "Asia? Perfect. I'll head to Thailand to test the suit's capabilities and take care of the Eight-Faced Buddha. Has the suicide squad already departed?"
"They left two hours ago. It will take approximately 13 more hours for them to reach Thailand. Don't forget to deliver the new Devonshire Mark II suits to them."
"Got it. Remind me when they arrive. Have the Mark II suits been fully assembled? And how long will it take to fly to Bangkok from Oxford in the Mark III?"
"Yes, they've been assembled. There are 10 sets in total—6 for the suicide squad and 4 as backups for Antonov's team protecting Mrs. Lena. Flying at an altitude of over 20,000 meters to avoid most radars will take approximately 7 hours."
"That long? How long will the arc reactor in the suit's chest support continuous flight?"
"At full speed, it consumes 3% of its energy per hour. Replenishing the energy would only require changing the palladium element."
"So it will only use 21% of the energy to make the trip. The reactor is more durable than I expected," William remarked as he grabbed a box containing extra palladium discs and placed it in his storage space. He then opened a portal to an abandoned quarry 20 kilometers from the castle. Stepping through in his Mark III suit, he activated the flight mode and launched himself into the sky.
Once he reached an altitude of 20,000 meters, William ordered, "Destination: Bangkok. GO, GO, GO!"
"Understood. Navigation is set. Estimated time: 7 hours."
Six and a half hours later, Sunday woke William, who had fallen asleep inside the suit. "SIR, wake up. We'll arrive in Bangkok in half an hour."
Groggily waking up, William grumbled, "Damn, I'm not flying like this again. The first hour was fun, but after that, it's just a complete waste of time. If I had known long flights were this boring, I would have just used the portal."
It was now 4 a.m. in Bangkok, and the sky was beginning to brighten. William found a discreet location to land, opened a portal back to the castle, and had the mechanical arms help him remove the Mark III suit. "Equip me with all the weapons and produce a few extra reactors."
"Understood, SIR. It will take approximately three hours to complete," Sunday replied.
"Alright," William said, changing into casual clothes in the basement. He then hopped onto a Ducati R6 and rode through a portal, heading toward downtown Bangkok.
After grabbing some breakfast, William dialed Zhang Ziwei's phone number. A few seconds later, a voice on the other end greeted him with a "Sawasdee krub."
"I don't understand Thai. Let's speak in English or Mandarin," William replied. Remembering a viral line, he switched to English. "Interested in learning about your mother's situation?"
"Who are you?" Zhang Ziwei's tone remained unchanged. "My mother passed away more than a decade ago. You must have the wrong number."
"No, I've got the right person, Mr. Zhang Ziwei. Interested in having a chat?"
Hearing William call him by name, Zhang Ziwei stopped hesitating. "Where should we meet?"
After thinking for a moment, William suggested a surprising location. "The Grand Palace."
Meeting at the Grand Palace made Zhang Ziwei feel slightly more at ease. No one would be foolish enough to cause trouble there. Not only did the palace house the police, but there were also two military units stationed inside, with over 300 soldiers. "See you in two hours."
Two hours later, William, dressed casually in jeans, a short-sleeved T-shirt, a baseball cap, and sunglasses, was leisurely observing the murals in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha within the Grand Palace. "SIR, Zhang Ziwei is calling."
"Tell him I'm by the Hanuman mural," William replied, hands behind his back as he studied the depiction of Hanuman, supposedly the inspiration for the Chinese Monkey King, Sun Wukong.
"Can you understand it?" Zhang Ziwei asked as he approached.
William knew it was him without turning around. "Doesn't matter if I can or not. I'm not an archaeologist or an expert in ancient cultures. I'm just curious. I'll probably forget all about it once I leave the palace."
"Curiosity killed the cat. It's better to forget," Zhang Ziwei commented as he stood next to William, examining his profile. "How did you get my contact information?"
"CIA told me," William said, turning to face Zhang Ziwei, whose familiar features caused a look of surprise to cross his face. William chuckled. "Seems like you recognize me."
After a moment of surprise, Zhang Ziwei visibly relaxed. "Of course. Even though I live in a somewhat secluded area, I know who William Devonshire is. Some of the people I've met over the years, after seeing news about you, said if you ever came to Thailand, they'd kidnap you and squeeze at least a billion dollars out of you, given your reputation."
"What do you think?" William asked, turning back to the mural while using his mental powers to scan the entire Temple of the Emerald Buddha. One benefit of meeting here was that his psychic abilities allowed him to register everyone inside the temple.
Zhang Ziwei smirked. "If it were me, I'd kidnap you, pamper you with good food, drinks, and beautiful women, and just ask for advice. I'd want to live like you, where buying yachts and planes is as easy as grabbing a Coke."
"Haha, not a bad plan," William started to say but suddenly detected a new figure approaching. Glancing toward the entrance of the temple, he smiled before turning back to Zhang Ziwei's left hand. "You got married?"
"Yeah," Zhang Ziwei raised his left hand, showing off the ring, a mysterious smile on his face. "If it weren't for my wife, I wouldn't be alive right now."
Understanding who Zhang Ziwei's wife was, William shuddered a little before tossing him a phone with a tracking function. "Call me."
As Zhang Ziwei caught the phone, still puzzled by William's gesture, William said, "Looks like your wife doesn't trust you as much as you think. You'd better have a good reason for being here because she's about 40 meters behind us and will round the corner in about 10 seconds. Good luck, buddy."
With that, William smiled, put his sunglasses back on, and casually strolled away.
Watching William leave, Zhang Ziwei didn't doubt him. Smiling, he put the phone in his pocket and took out his own, dialing a number while glancing at the Hanuman mural.
"Hey, Billy, where are you? F, I told you 10 a.m., and now you're telling me you'll be another 30 minutes late? What? You heard 11 a.m.? Damn it, you can't tell the difference between 10 and 11? Fine, half an hour it is. I'm at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. If you're not here in half an hour, don't even think about getting your shipment for the second half of the year."
"What do you mean, 'I'll try'? That's not my problem. I'm out here hiding from my wife to make some money for her gift. I don't care if you get the shipment or not!"
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